“fight back with a letter-to-the-editor, …
send me your name, address, and phone number.
We’ll write the letter …”
“if you speak Burn-out, talk to us about …
a covert assignment.”
(Newsom campaign directives)
Phony letters. Covert assignments? … Geez, the Newsom campaign is beginning to reach h. brown depths. … When a couple of hundred grand of opposition research turns up nothing on Gonzalez, Newsom sends his goons after Matt’s staff. Bogus charges of fraud and whatever the hell else Eric Jaye can dig out of that slime pit he calls a brain. (ooooh, that’s pretty nasty) But, for God’s sake, Jaye’s Republican District 1 field manager (no, I’m not going to mention your name prick, that’s what you want) … guy compares Gonzalez to a homicidal mass murderer and the friggin’ Chronicle doesn’t even mention it. (thanks to the Examiner for fair coverage on that, by the way) … Chronicle doesn’t mention it. … Nope, they print the slander Newsom’s campaign spokesman (I’ll mention him … John Shanley … a nice guy – but tough) … anyway, they print Shanely’s slanderous lies and ignore the overall big story which is … the Newsom campaign is going down faster than Linda Lovelace on a hot Saturday night.
Well, you know me and I’m not one to cause trouble. … Lord knows that little me and my solitary keyboard could never hope to compete against a 5 million dollar machine that pays dozens of writers to slander and lie. … But, what the hell, let’s give it a whirl.
Newsom’s “covert” operatives
There was a clown in here last night (I’m 24/7 campaign historian) … this clown comes in and ‘volunteers’ to work the phone bank for 2 hours. … He does nothing but bitch and create a negative vibe in the room. He takes nada notes & then wanders back to my office to ask for our “sound bytes” on the issue of ‘homelessness’. I note to him that the problem is too complicated for a byte but offer to lead him through the steps of how the Gonzalez minimum wage increase coupled with an implementation of the Continuum of Care developed long ago by a consortium of experts & shelved by Willie … guy get’s pissed. “You aren’t telling me anything! I want a sound byte!”
OK, as the cartoon says, I never claimed to be a border collie, but even I can see this guy is a plant. I ask his name. He charges away in a huff yelling “Ben!”. I pondered a second and went after him. By now, he was in the front offices where Matt’s top brass ponder their navels and consider the destiny of man. When I appeared, he broke off the animated conversation he was having and charged out the door. I asked the staffer if the guy gave a name. … Uh huh, you guessed it; he used a different name in the front of the building than he used in the back. … And, the ad for fake “Burn-outs” … we had a couple of them the other day come through the office rifling through papers and scaring the women. … Gavin, keep your assholes out of our offices.
Green ‘Invasion’??
What do you call it when 10,000 Republicans or Democrats get on planes and boats and buses … then, come to San Francisco … in an attempt to take control of the government on the federal, state and local level? … We call it a convention and we call the people tourists. Hell, we spend a bunch just trying to get them to come. … And, what does the Examiner call it when the Greens come to town? … An ‘invasion’! … C’mon, J.K. beat a path back to objective journalism. Welcome the Greens as you’d welcome Republicans or Democrats. If they come, it will be a boon to the local economy that we can certainly use. Their money is green too.
I’m referring to a front page article in the San Francisco Examiner written by J.K. Dineen (a fine, fine writer). J.K. basically, published a Newsom Campaign hit piece that cherry-picked what I think was a fabulous call for volunteers (did it on his own initiative) … cherry-picked an e-mail that ranks right up there with anything I’ve seen … he went through it and picked out the items that made the Greens look bad & published those. I think I owe it to my readers to print a couple of paragraphs that J.K. chose not to publish. Following is the entire e-mail. Decide for yourself:
THE REVOLUTION HAS STARTED
Charles Kalish, Monday, November 17, 2003 2:24am
Just wrote to my activist friend, Jason.
“Jason: Get your ass out here right away. The revolution has started. It started without you. If you don’t believe me, come for a couple of days to see it for yourself. You can report back to your father (a major activist on the national scene) and Ralph (Nader – Jason works with him).
The buzz in the city about Matt Gonzalez is becoming a roar. People are volunteering in droves. Example: before the Nov. 4 election there were 1 and a half people in our IT group to do the infrastructure of the phone, the computers, the maps, the voting data, the website – everything. Within three days after Matt got into the runoff, 42 volunteers were working in IT. Highly qualified engineers that get paid lots of money in the private sector were laying out telephone and cable lines, working on the network, developing our website – producing professional results.
Mindfuckingboggling.
The underground is coming out from all directions too ;-)
Get out here, man. Or tell your father to get his ass down here to see it (Jason’s father lives in Portland).
The revolution has started, Jason. You’re missing the party!! The latest poll has the race in a dead heat – actually Matt is ahead by 2 points. And we’ve only just begun.
Call me”
If you are an activist … If you’ve ever thought about activism …… If you live within the range of this email, come to San Francisco. Join this revolution.
Something is happening here like nothing any of us has ever experienced before.
There is an electricity in our campaign that’s bigger than any of us.
And Matt is out in front of it every day, all day, winning minds over to his ideas. His honesty and intelligence – his persona – come through even on the television screen. It’s remarkable. He’s got a sharp mind. He is principled. His goal is fairness for all people. He’s a realist. He’s not an ideologue. He gets things done and doesn’t have to make deals to do it. Every judgment I’ve seen him make (not all of which I’ve agreed with) is based on the merits of the case. He’s got a cool disposition – which I think is a result of his thoughtfulness. And he can’t be bought.
He is defying conventional wisdom. He is doing it his way and people are responding to it in a big way. “If I lose, I’ll lose as Matt Gonzalez. If I win, I’ll win as Matt Gonzalez. It is what it is.”
This whole scenario – the campaign, the candidate, the roar – may sound too good to be true. All I can say is that you’ve got to be part of it to experience it.
And contrary to popular folklore, the revolution IS being televised.
It’s a hell of a lot more fun in person though – kind of like Mardi Gras … with purpose. The goal is simply a society designed by and for people to provide the greatest happiness for everybody.
The existing models are not working. San Franciscans know that. Matt Gonzalez is going to be the first mayor of a major American city whose roots are in the Progressive Movement. San Franciscans are choosing him because his ideals are their ideals. It’s wild!!
Come join us.
And if you can’t come, send money. That will help greatly. We are up against VERY big money. Write the check to Gonzalez For Mayor. Send it to Gonzalez for Mayor, 211 13th St., SF, 94103
Love,
Charles”
That’s the thing in its entirety. Now, I don’t know about you but the contrast between the Kalish e-mail and the garbage coming out of the Newsom camp is altogether striking. Newsom’s people lie and cheat. They libel fine people. Newsom’s campaign is puke politics at its worst. The Gonzalez campaign is a celebration of love and hope. You can feel it in the Kalish e-mail. You know what it could bring about?
Mattstock!
The three most memorable mass gatherings of my lifetime have been Martin Luther King’s speech on the D.C. mall that drew a million people, Woodstock, which drew a half million, and the Summer of Love in San Francisco that saw hundreds of thousands flock to the Golden Gate. All were huge inspirational and financial successes. … What we have coming to San Francisco soon may be the next big ‘happening’ in American history … Mattstock!!
The musicians are here. We got the restaurants. The City needs the business. There are plenty of hotel rooms (don’t think the Greens will come broke or be alone – we could get a couple of hundred thousand coming to town to mix & draw in the energy) … think of it. … All, for one honest man named Matt Gonzalez.
Hey, you don’t have all day to read me. … I’ll try to get another one of these out tonight. The headquarters never stops and it is all magic. A new sign on the cabinets over the kitchen sink says “Wash your own dishes. Your mother doesn’t live here. (Unless your mother is h. brown)” … Yeah, ha, ha. …
Bring bourbon:
